WATERTOWN, Mass.—It's like a Fourth of July parade here, except this time the people genuinely mean it when they're clapping for the cops. The police cars are leaving the area one by one. As they go, they drive through a gauntlet of people at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Kimball. A line of locals, most of whom appear to be wearing Boston sports apparel, stand on both sides applauding, clapping, and yelling. A guy in a Red Sox cap and Red Sox pullover, who looks like he may have already had a few celebratory drinks, speaks for the crowd: “Yeah, let’s go, baby! Yeah, Boston!”

A man in a Bruins T-shirt and a backwards cap asks a state policeman if there's any way he can shake his hand. The cop pauses for a second, walks over to him, looks him in the eye, and salutes him. He then does the same to the man's friend.